Your Nemesis, The Short Nap
A short nap is generally anything between 10-45 minutes. Sometimes short naps sneak in during car trips or while nursing or taking a bottle. Sometimes a temporary sleep regression, ear infection, or ferocious bout of teething will result in short naps. But for some of you, short naps are simply a constant part of life. If so, you’re probably pretty keen to help your baby take longer naps because…
Short Naps Suck
There are many reasons why short naps suck but the big three are:
- You’ll spend longer putting baby to sleep than your baby actually sleeps.
- You never get break.
- Babies who take consistently short naps are generally unhappy babies.
Really, neither you nor your baby is particularly happy about short naps.
The Short Nap Myth
You can’t make your newborn baby nap longer. Some babies will start taking longer naps earlier than others. There is always some Mom in the new baby playgroup that will tell you that their baby takes 3 hour naps all day long because of the magical book they read. Nope. Their baby is taking long naps because she is biologically ready to do so.
Want Long Naps?
Newborn babies will often take itty-bitty cat naps all day long until they consolidate their naps into longer chunkier naps. Nap consolidation can happen anytime between 6 weeks and 6 months. If you are the parent of a baby under 6 months you are probably pretty keen to have your baby consolidate naps. Parenting a cat napper can be exhausting and frustrating.
Sleep consolidation also reflects the maturation of intrinsic bioregulatory processes.
Just know that you can’t MAKE it happen and if yours is the last baby on the block taking short crappy naps, it’s not necessarily because you are failing as a parent, you have a bad baby, or because of that one glass of white wine you had when you were pregnant.
Short Naps For All Eternity?
You can, of course, delay nap consolidation by keeping your baby awake too long resulting in them becoming OVERtired. Overtired babies generally take short naps. If your baby is less than 6 months old and you’re doing everything you can to keep your baby from being awake too long, you’re providing lots of age-appropriate soothing, etc. and your baby STILL takes short naps, then it just means she isn’t ready to take longer naps yet. It’ll come.
However if your baby is older than 6 months and still taking short naps then you may have a problem.
- The #1 reason babies over 6 months are taking short naps is that they’re not falling asleep on their own yet.
- The #2 most common reason (which is actually related) is that you’re still using pacifiers and/or bottles at bedtime.
- And #1 & #2 are almost always compounded by…
- Keeping baby awake too long.
- Lack of consistency (where they sleep, bedtime/nap routines, etc.).
- Chronic sleep deprivation (tired babies are generally crappy nappers).
If you’re still rocking/nursing/bouncing them fully to sleep, or putting them to sleep with a pacifier or bottle, I can pretty much guarantee that they’ll take short naps forever. Helping your baby learn to fall asleep without you/bottle/pacifier is NOT EASY. Neither is getting your kid out of diapers, dealing with bullies, or having the condom talk. And yet these are all things you’ll have to do.
Similarly you are no longer the parent of a newborn who could easily sleep whenever and wherever it suited. As the parent of a regulation-sized baby it’s time to get serious about making sure you are home at nap time, using consistent routines when it’s time for sleep, and having your baby sleep in the same place round the clock.
How Long Is a Long Nap?
A long nap is generally around 1-1.5 hours although some lucky moms have been blessed with 3 hour nappers. You can identify these parents because of their healthy glow. And the fact that they’re about to get their first novel published.
So good luck getting your short napper to take long naps. Feel free to share how and when you achieved nap nirvana!
{photo credit: yoshimov}
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Hey Alexis, remember me (“every single night the same arrangement, I go out & fight the fight”)? Probably not but anyways… I had my son doing great after a lengthy go with CIO for nights. It was a huge debacle. Lived thru it. Happy to report he regularly sleeps 7pm-6am. Yay. However, when I attempted CIO for naps it all went to crap. Then I decided to stick by what you had said & make naps happen however possible. Well, now my nearly 15 mo old will only nap in the car if he’s sleepy or I must bottle feed & rock him to sleep
then I must hold him cuz setting him down means he hops up screaming. Sigh. I don’t know what to do 
I know this is all my own fault & a self created mess and hey, things could be worse. I just don’t get a break from him, ever. No body will babysit since he won’t nap. I feel like I failed him (& myself) sorry for grammar & spelling errors, I am typing from my phone as i hold him for yet another nap 
As a frustrated and worried mama this article has made me feel even worse about the short naps my baby takes. I now know why his naps are so short and what I’m doing wrong but it dosent tell me how to fix this problem… Now I just feel even more like I’m doomed
maybe you should add a little more tips or resources a available? Just an idea 
I just wish my baby would stay asleep (he’s only a crappy napper. He falls asleep but only naps 20-30 minutes and once hes awake thats it i cant get him down again. Wakes himself at night cuz he rolls on his belly but I can get him back to sleep quite quickly).
Ok, well I’m no expert, but your post tugged at my heart. Please don’t feel like a failure. I believe until 6 months hits, there’s not much you can do for some babies. My sons a cat napper (I hate “crappy napper” sounds so negative) and is a super happy baby. I can get one 3-4 hour stretch at night, otherwise it’s 20-45 for daytime naps and 30 mins – 2 hours for nighttime sleep. I’ve tried almost everything (not comfortable letting him CIO yet). He just wakes to nurse at night, then back to sleep and during the day, he’s done sleeping after his cat naps. He’s awake 1-2 hours between naps. He still cluster feeds in the aftenoon most days, as well. Doctor is so happy with his progress, he tells me not to worry. If the only thing he isn’t doing is sleeping “through the night” or giving us bigger chunks for naps, to be happy. He goes to sleep relatively easy, can sleep almost anywhere and is so pleasant to be around. If your baby is healthy and happy, just give it time. I know, personally, how exhausting and frustrating it is, but take the help of others – it makes a difference. Nap for those 30 mins. May not seem like much (I fight them too lol), but it is. Leave the stuff that “has” to be done for a few days longer (I wear clothes for a couple days before washing lol) and just coast and concentrate on keeping your sanity. That’s working for me lol I have some extra hands around the house, so I started using them and it just helps me stay calm, while on this rollercoaster of “oh you’re baby sleeps? Really. Mine doesn’t” lol
Wow, Mal. You just described our 5mo old’s sleep patterns to a tee. Super happy baby, super short sleeper! Only difference is our baby won’t sleep just anywhere. She goes down really easy but only if we follow her sleep/nap routine at home with her swing. No car seat naps for us. I will say you sound better adjusted than I am about the whole thing. Compounding my problem is the fact that she wont take a bottle or pacifier so I can’t split night feedings with Daddy. I haven’t slept 3 hrs in a row since October. I fantasize about a baby that only wakes up twice a night and will nap for a whole hour…but then she is painfully cute and I decide I can last one more day with the baby I got
anyway, glad to know we aren’t the only ones out there sleeping in 2 hr shifts. Thanks for sharing!
thanks for your optimistic comment, it is what i needed to hear
Also if I try to move him he wakes up. He used to never to this :S
Hi Melanie,
I, too, made the “mistake” (actually, the greatest epiphany I’ve had in a while) of finding this article before finding the rest of the site. Before you get too depressed about what you should not have done/be doing (I feel your pain), make sure to check out the rest of the articles (blue links near the top), because the author, Alexis, has the most thorough (yet concise!!) collection of resources and tips on how to get your little one to be a star sleeper that I’ve found thus far. I figure, since you posted just a few hours ago, you might be able to find some optimistic answers before you even hear more cries
Naps. *sigh*
I use to think my now 6m son use to be a good napper. But that was before I realized we had several sleep association issues (co-sleep, nurse to sleep, paci). We’re only a week into FE CIO & making leaps and bounds. But now that I’m not co-sleeping w/ him during nap time, he went from sleeping 1-2hrs+ to 30-45m! After consecutive crappy naps, I noticed it effecting our night time sleep. I don’t know what to do…I feel like I’ve read just about every post on this site. But maybe not. I’m gonna see if I can find some tips.
8 weeks old. Short Naps. Almost full soothing arsenal (swing, swaddle, white noise, dim, but not dark room). I have tried very hard to get him to be a paci-man, but he will have none of it.
Just got the swing, it has made putting him down drowsy but awake super easy, but it hasn’t increased the length of his naps… still 30 minutes like 5 times a day. Nights are fine – sleeps in his crib, in his carseat, swaddled. One six hour stretch (oh happy day!), followed by the typical 2-3 hour stretches of early morning. Bedtime seems to be happening at about 7 (although it is still not settled, sometimes 9, sometimes 6:30).
So, howa ’bout those naps? Any hope for getting them to be longer?Or am I tapped out and have to accept a 30 minute napper?
Hi everyone,
My 7 month old is falling asleep on his own without the use of a pacifier or bottle, but his naps are only an hour long….twice a day! 9:00-10:30 and 1:30-2:30. He’s fine until around 6:00 and the it’s a struggle to keep him up until a decent bedtime (7:00 right now). Any suggestions on how I can get him to take a longer afternoon nap?
Thanks!
Sarah
Sarah-
I have a baby the same age with the same good bedtime habits but mine will only sleep 20 minutes for naps! It used to be 40 and now it’s down to 20 no matter what I do. You’re not alone!
Hi sarah,
i’m pretty sure babies are supposed to take 3 naps until they are 9 months old. try making the middle nap at 12:30 or 1 instead of 1:30, and then try for a short last nap at 4:30 or 5. my daughter is 6 months and if i get her to go even just 20 minutes at 5 pm she can then go until 7:30 for bed. btw many people would suggest that 6 or 7 pm are perfectly fine bedtimes!
Your site is funny and helpful, thank you!
My three month old son is killing us with short naps for the past couple of weeks – 4 or 5 30-45 minute naps daily. I know he’s still tired when he wakes from these short naps – he gets tired faster and is generally more irritable and having less fun. I watch him very carefully for the signs of tiredness and try to begin the nap routine as soon as he exhibits the signs. He’s clearly tired, but he fights the nap like crazy. Nap routine is clean diaper, story with a snuggly blanket, swaddling, and rocking/singing/shhing till very close to sleep. He will be heavy lidded but start fighting sleep like crazy, fussing, arching his back etc. I’m working very hard to achieve laying him down drowsy but awake, and it has happened before and worked, but all too often the minute I lay him down he becomes wide awake and protests my departure. What am I doing wrong here? I skip the story if he seems too tired for it, and I try not to nurse to sleep but make sure that he’s not hungry before naps too. He is breastfed. Bedtime is currently 9 pm, but we are moving it up a half hour each week with a goal of 8 pm. He sleeps fairly well at night – it’s just naps that are our nemesis. I generally get from 9 pm to 3 am, then a feeding, and after that he tends to wake every two hours or hour. Sometimes he wakes during the 9 – 3 period, but can be patted or shh’d back to sleep pretty quickly. I do typically end up bringing him in bed with me somewhere in the 6 am hour for nursing and snuggling to help him stay asleep till I want him to get up at 8 am. Am I screwing this all up?!
Sarah,
Why not just call hour naps good and put your LO down at 6 instead of 7? If he’s not overtired, he actually might sleep longer and not necessarily wake earlier. We have to do a 6 pm bedtime and it just means more adult time for us.
Melanie,
I agree with the other poster about reading the rest of the site. Focus on night time before naps and then naps will come easier. That’s what we’re working on right as I type. First in his crib nap we’ve had in months, as a result of working on nighttime for the past two weeks.
I will say all these tips depend on your child. We weren’t/ aren’t willing to do CIO, but now our LO is to the point where he will slightly fuss it out. Prior to a few weeks ago, we would have had painful shrieks and cries. Just now he’s ready for this when our prior sleep strategies stopped working.
Hello,
I started sleep training my 3 month old using the CIO method. He is doing great during the night and is only waking up once to feed. His naps are another issue. Before I slept trained him I would rock/bounce/pat/shush him to sleep and hold him the entire 1.5 hour nap. I am using the CIO method with naps as well and he takes much longer to fall asleep and only sleeps 30 minutes. I know he needs to sleep longer but he doesn’t fall back to sleep. I have read that we go through sleep cycles and we wake up after 30-45 minutes to go into our deeper sleep. He will not go into his deep sleep by himself. Is it a good idea to let him cry it out for his naps and then after he wakes up, wait 10 minutes then rock him to sleep and hold him for the rest of his nap? After rocking I have tried to put him back down to sleep for the rest of his nap but he wakes up right away.
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My daughter is 5.5 months & sleeps thru the night with no problems, has since she was about 6 weeks old. My issue is she has been anti-nap the past month and it’s driving me crazy! I EBF and she will doze while nursing and if I don’t get up she’ll sleep on me for 30mins to an hour. However if I try to put her down for a nap whether she’s already been sleeping on me, is drowsy but awake, or even wide awake nothing works. If she does sleep at all she’ll wake up at 20 mins on the dot. When she was younger she’d take multiple naps throughout the day in her swing with no problem. I used to think she even slept too much! Even now she’ll sleep in her swing sometimes but not often. I don’t want to complain because she’s such a great night time sleeper & I know a lot of parents would kill for that, but it is getting frustrating. I’ve read a lot on the subject (and on your website!) and while we’ve given her all the age appropiate soothing of swaddling, rocking, nursing, bouncing, etc but now that she’s approaching 6 months I’m really scared that she’ll rely on these things forever (and they don’t even work for naps now most of the time!) So basically my question is how do I start to implement the falling asleep on her own methods, and what exactly are they? Just putting her down drowsy? I’ve tried that and it 8 out of 10 times doesn’t work. I do not want to do CIO. Can you please give me some step-by-step instructions to follow? I’d be forever grateful. I was thinking of trying to work with the swing but she’ll be growing out of it soon (and heck I even left her in it for 30 mins today and she still didn’t sleep). Funny thing is she usually is a good napper for my mother-in-law who watches her 3 days a week.
Hi there – AGAIN. I hope you’re doing well, and not too overworked from answering the world’s parenting questions!
Here’s another for you…
So, my little lady – 8 months old – is doing really well with her bedtime. She goes right down between 7 and 8pm and pretty much stays down until 4-5am. Then if she doesn’t stop crying within 5 minutes (and I mean crying, not pouting and whining), I will get up and bring her to bed with us until about 6am (7am if we’re lucky). Not bad, and we all wake up (generally) rested. Her dad and I feel very lucky.
My issue is one I’ve had since she was born: she will not nap unless she’s in my arms (I mentioned this in another post to you). I will try to put her down for a nap in her crib (at either 9-9:30am and/or 1-2pm), and she will usually freak out, but I will let her cry for up to an hour.
However, she won’t give up. She hates the crib during the day. We have all the “good sleep” trappings: the window in her room is covered, there is an air purifier under her crib for white noise, and I’m *trying* to keep on a schedule (I admit, I’m a bit of a failure at scheduling naps, as I am afraid to put her down if she’s not tired at all or if she’s overly-tired – then I wait until she shows signs of being tired again).
Only a few times has she fallen asleep in her crib after a few minutes (read: 5-20 minutes), but then she always wakes up crying after 20-35 minutes of sleep – not nearly enough to constitute a real nap. I don’t think these few and far between short naps are enough.
I’m not sure what to do now. It’s obvious that she associates certain things with napping (maybe the living room where we usually sit and nurse during the day, or maybe just my boobs and lap), and unlike her bedtime, she doesn’t eventually fall asleep when in her crib (at least not within the hour). For the last week she’s been doing this annoying “sleeping for only minutes at a time” thing, even in my arms – can this be considered a nap strike? What is going on with her? Bah.
Another major issue is that lately she just loves to fall asleep in my arms at around 4pm (probably because she’s refusing to really nap during the rest of the day)- not so awesome, I realize. I manage to get her up by 5-5:15, which means she still hasn’t had a problem going down by 7:30-ish, but I don’t wanna encourage a bad habit.
Anyway, any thoughts? I looked all over, but there doesn’t seem to be much advice on our situation, or others like ours. Thanks!
i have the same issue with my 8-month old son… you’re not alone! i also have no idea what to do, i swear i’ve tried EVERYTHING.
AGH I have the same problem…. 8 month old REFUSES to nap. I’m not willing to let her work herself into such a frenzy (60 minutes of SCREAMING) for 20 minutes of sleep. Even if I nurse her to sleep, she won’t sleep more than 30 minutes. Naps have always been a struggle, but things are now worse than ever. At least she goes to sleep without a squeak at night….I also hope for a nap-related post soon!
My daughter just turned 8 months and has started fighting her naps more than ever. She sleeps well at night and I had been able to put her down for naps by nursing, rocking or taking her on a car ride (not the best ways, I know, but she would always scream if I put her down awake for naps) but now those methods don’t always work anymore. She would fight sleep and it would take her longer to fall asleep, if she did at all! At daycare, the only way she would sleep was in the swing, but today she fought it and went 7 hours without any sleep! I don’t know what to do or how to sleep train her for naps. I wanted to check in and see if you all found anything that worked for you?
It sounds like this must be a normal, age-related thing, since everyone who has posted in response to my post has a baby in the exact same age group. That doesn’t make the struggle any easier, I realize, but it is heartening to know that the napping issue we’ve been having isn’t at all that uncommon, I’m guessing.
My daughter is now well into her 9th month, and she still refuses to take naps in her crib. She insists on being held and/or nursed for them. I really wouldn’t mind this if I knew that at some point in the next few months she would get over this (or more recently, she has been falling asleep in the car after about 10 minutes). I just don’t want her to be 2 years old and still needing to be held and nursed to sleep at naptime.
Unfortunately, no one yet has an answer for me regarding our situation: the baby who goes to sleep in her crib easily at night, but refuses to do the same at naptime, sleep rituals (different from or the same as at bedtime) be-damned.
Anyway, at least we aren’t alone
If I hear any useful information about this issue, I will be sure to post it!
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Hello!
My baby is 7.5 months and I’m having the exact same issue! Sleeps all night in her crib with no problems, yet hates it for daytime naps and her daytime naps are pretty much nonexistant now (except for if she falls asleep in the car or stroller). We do the same ritual as at night. I posted about this issue on Feb 11 when she was 5.5 months and no one replied with any advice. At least back then she’d fall asleep while nursing and would nap on me if I didn’t move… now she never falls asleep while nursing during the day. She’s eating about 3 solid food meals a day plus nursing about 5 times a day and it’s making it even harder to get the naps on track with her eating solid foods. However she takes 2 long naps at my mother in law’s house when she watches her 3 days a week! It’s so frustrating to me that she’ll nap there but not at home. I work part time and my schedule changes weekly as far as the days and times I work so on my days off I always have errands to do and it’s hard to get into a consistent routine as far as timing the naps. She goes to bed at 8pm, sleeps all night w/o waking, and wakes up to nurse at 6am, will go back to bed around 6:30 until 8-8:30am when she wakes for the day (so I guess this is her morning nap) but after that the naps are either 20 mins or non-existant. Can somebody please post some advice? I’m happy to hear that I’m not alone : )
Here’s what I posted 2 months ago if you care to read it. I don’t use the swing anymore with her because she’s almost outgrown it:
“My daughter is 5.5 months & sleeps thru the night with no problems, has since she was about 6 weeks old. My issue is she has been anti-nap the past month and it’s driving me crazy! I EBF and she will doze while nursing and if I don’t get up she’ll sleep on me for 30mins to an hour. However if I try to put her down for a nap whether she’s already been sleeping on me, is drowsy but awake, or even wide awake nothing works. If she does sleep at all she’ll wake up at 20 mins on the dot. When she was younger she’d take multiple naps throughout the day in her swing with no problem. I used to think she even slept too much! Even now she’ll sleep in her swing sometimes but not often. I don’t want to complain because she’s such a great night time sleeper & I know a lot of parents would kill for that, but it is getting frustrating. I’ve read a lot on the subject (and on your website!) and while we’ve given her all the age appropiate soothing of swaddling, rocking, nursing, bouncing, etc but now that she’s approaching 6 months I’m really scared that she’ll rely on these things forever (and they don’t even work for naps now most of the time!) So basically my question is how do I start to implement the falling asleep on her own methods, and what exactly are they? Just putting her down drowsy? I’ve tried that and it 8 out of 10 times doesn’t work. I do not want to do CIO. Can you please give me some step-by-step instructions to follow? I’d be forever grateful. I was thinking of trying to work with the swing but she’ll be growing out of it soon (and heck I even left her in it for 30 mins today and she still didn’t sleep). Funny thing is she usually is a good napper for my mother-in-law who watches her 3 days a week.
Hi All,
I’m hoping Alexis will chime in here as I have a really bad napper. He is almost 10 months old and after 30 minutes or less he wakes crying hysterically, but he won’t go back to sleep. I know he is tired, but I can’t figure out why he can’t put himself back to sleep. I don’t have any sleep associations (NO pacifier, rocking, nursing etc.) I’m baffled and frustrated. He is well fed, goes down roughly the same time 8:30am or 9am depending on wake up time, I have white noise, I sing, I say the same words before I put him in his crib, but I still get 30 minutes. I am thinking I will get black out blinds, but not sure that will help. Does anyone have any advice? I really hope Alexis writes something on naps.
Veronica, I had this problem with a boy I baby sit. His mom adjusted his naps… kept him awake longer so he could be tired enough to stay asleep longer. He’s napping great now! (thank goodness)
Hi Laura,
Thank you for your feedback. How many hours did she keep her LO up for? By the time I put my LO down I know he is tired. He wakes early today was 5:50 am so I know by 8:30am he was definitely tired. I think I will adjust, but I’m almost thinking he’s OT vs. UT, but it’s hard to say. Can you give me the LO sleep schedule then I can see if I’m on the right track. Thanks!!
The boy I baby sit will be 11 months on march 28, I believe he wake in the morning around 6 or 6:30, he naps at my house around 9:30 or 10 but a lot closer to 10 lately. He sleeps 2 hours. Then he takes an afternoon nap from 3 until about 4:30 when he gets picked up. I’m pretty sure his bedtime is 8 or 8:30. My baby girl will be 9 months on the 25, I’m still struggling with her but typically she can wake up at 7/7:30am nap at 10/10:30 until noon. Then nap again at 3.
My daughter is a very strong willed little 7 month old. She has always been a short napper, waking up after 30 mins and taking 3 to 4 naps a day with a 2 hour wake period. I have wished she would nap longer, however I pretty much accepted this was who she was. I decided to help her self soothe (purely becsuse of her frequent night wakenings of up to 5 times a night) I used to nurse her to sleep, then provide a paci after the first wake ing at 3am once I nursed her.
I decided to lose the paci and stop nursing to sleep 2weeks ago and being honest she done so well as she didnt even miss it. After 2 nights of crying it out for no longer thsn 20 mins she now goes to sleep without any fussing. In fact she smiles at night when I lay her down and snuggles into her blanket. She now sleeps through the night waking st 6am.
However the past few days have been a nightmare with naps and therefore extreme crsnkiness to the point to unconsolable screaming for a large part of the day. Her first napat 9am is great. White noise, pram, blanket and rocking the pram usually has her nspping in 5 mins. However her second nap approx 2hours after waking is non existant niw. She went the whole day without a nap. I tried an hour walking and the car, still to no avail.
Its awful to see her so upset from overtiredness. I cant even settle her. I am wondering if its a knock on effect to self soothing. Becsuse day and night sleep are different could I try feed to sleep for naps without this having an impact of bedtime? Or is this seperation axiety that will pass. Although she doesnt settle when being lifted neither.
did you ever resolve this? i am curious because i feel guilty still nursing my 6 mo to sleep for naps. i read somewhere on this site that a pacifier is fine for naps even if you lose it for bedtime because of that nap-nighttime disociation, BUT you’re still supposed to avoid object permanence for any sleep. still, my baby’s hungry time falls right at nap time and she just falls asleep while eating so i keep her in my arms till she’s asleep and then put her in the crib. she sleeps usually 1 hr in the morning, and the next 2 naps are 40 minutes each, usually. at daycare she can usually only muster 20-40 minute naps, and they give her a pacifier there or she falls asleep while drinking from the bottle. anyway to answer one of your questions i (personally, in my situation) have found that nursing to sleep for naps has had NO impact on bed-time.
Lara now naps twice a day both for 1.5hours which handmade her a contented happy baby. Its like she is now getting the sleeps she needs. With the paci, it was right for us with taking it away as she never needs it now. I do give her a feed before naps though as I find she sleeps better with a full tum. It tends to make her sleepy and I just have to play white noise (fan sound on app) and she usually drifts off.
I agree the Paci for naps has no bearing on nighttime, however I just felt it was either all or nothing. I honestly think though that lara was ready to transition to 2naps per day however the white noise has been a god send for making her sleep through her original 30mins nap which is the key to lara being contented and happy.
oh i am happy to hear that! and it’s useful information too. thank you for replying.
Hi Alexis-
this site has been a life saver!
I need your help. Please please. I have commented on this site a few times so I’m sorry if I seem to be stalking you.
My 16 week old boy had finally started sleeping better at night – knock on wood. However, he has said goodbye to naps. I have read your section on naps and how some babies just aren’t there yet. Well he used to take. 2-3 hour nap and now it’s gone! So I know he CAN take a nap, he just won’t! He naps for 20 maybe 30 minutes at a time. He wakes up still tired but I am unable to get him back to sleep. I try my hardest to put him down when he is yawning, etc. He is normally not awake for more than 2 hours max at a time. Do you have any suggestions to help him nap? He sleeps in the swing, swaddled, with white noise. Thank you for your help! I feel like my entire life revolved around his sleeping and it is so frustrating so see The naps get worse! Thanks in advance
My daughter is almost 6 months and she has just started rolling. She now rolls in her crib everytime I put her down to nap. Do I let her cry it out or do I constantly flip her over? This of course is a problem at nighttime too. She wakes every 2 hours and needs to be flipped. Please help!
Hello to all fellow parents of catnappers!! We should probably start a support group!
I too have a catnapper; 9 weeks old and she fits the brief! I know that being under 6 months there is still time for her sleep habits to change, but who knows?!
After reading tons of websites and forums about this topic and finally, this blog, I have come to one conclusion: as there are so many catnappers out there with VERY similar stories, maybe it is quite normal (although undesirable!) and we must therefore simply accept it. I was getting so obsessed with my little darling’s sleep habits, comparing her to other babies, wondering what I was doing wrong etc that I wasn’t enjoying my time with her. I continue to try and get her napping better but have accepted that that is her ‘sleep personality’. It’s not easy, but I feel a bit more sane!
I mainly wrote this to let you all know my thoughts are with you; it can be lonely being the mother of a catnapper (especially in a mothers group full of mothers of long nappers! )
Hey Lucy, just wondering if your cat napper has gotten better? I have a 9 week old who is also a cat napper (15-45 min, but 30-45min is very rare, maybe once a day at most). I just want to know that it will get better!!!
Hi Kristen!
My bubs is now 15 weeks old and is still a catnapper but has gotten more consistent which has made life much easier. The main thing is that she now goes down much easier for naps and can put herself to sleep w/o as much assistance from me (she could not do that at 9 wks). She now goes down for naps 3 times a day (morning/mid-morning,afternoon) and sleeps for 45 mins each time. When I have the time to go in and resettle her (i go in about 30mins into nap and gently pat her on the back before she stirs to help her slip into the deeper sleep cycle) she will sleep up to 2 hrs(this happens maybe twice a week. She is just not ready yet to sleep long lengths during the day by herself. Nearly everyone I have spoken to have said that catnapping is a fact of baby life that improves as the baby gets older. I even know someone who went to sleep school to solve catnapping problems and nothing worked…until the baby hit 8 months and started sleeping longer….when she was ready! So yes, it does get better….I’m sure your baby will gradually learn the skills he/she needs to nap better. If baby wakes up happy from a catnap, I’m generally happy. If she wakes up grumpy and crying, I usually try to resettle her back to sleep and that’s when she sleeps longer.
I’m rambling a bit, but I hope I’ve shed some light for you!!
Thanks Lucy!! I’ll also go in at 30 min if the nap lasts that long. In the meantime, I’ll continue with waiting it out, it’s nice to know that it does get better!
Hi again Kristen,
Just a quick update to keep you feeling positive. Just now, bubs has gone down for her usual 45 min nap and for no particular reason has passed the 1 hr mark…I have done nothing different apart from really trying to put her down awake. I saw her stir at the 45 min mark and open her eyes but before I went in I watched her and she went back to sleep. This does not happen all the time but it’s a sign of improvement…I bet your little one will improve with time too! Mine from 4-12 weeks was a shocker and I was lucky to get 30 mins out of her and that was with a whole lot of crying!! It will get better!!! (:
Thanks again Lucy!
My baby is a champion night time sleeper, sleeps 12 hours a night and can go for 10 hours without a feed. I wonder if her night time sleep is affecting her day time naps because she’s sleeping so much already. She usually has a 45 min nap sometime each day, so it’s getting there.
Hi there! LOVE this site…thanks for all the great info and support. Our 5 month old son has been consistently sleeping 10 hours at night, but is a catnapper during the day, with 4-5 30-min naps and ends up being pretty cranky by the late afternoon, early evening. Our pediatrician suggested that if we want him to sleep longer at naptime to put him down every day at the same time and leave him in his crib for the same amount of time, 60-90 minutes each nap. We’ve committed to trying this for 2 weeks to see if he “gets” it, but there have been some tough naps the last couple of days. There have also been some great naps…he’ll wake up after the 35 or so mins, fuss for 10-20 minutes and then go back to sleep for another 30-60 minutes. In your opinion, is this an effective technique? Seems like it could work, but also seems like a crapshoot! Thank you!!!
I dont mean to be a hated one, but my LO naps like a champ twice a day right now for at least 2 hours. She naps two hours after awakening in the morning and then two hours after she awakens from that nap she naps again. I usually have to wake her after two hours. She would sleep for more than that if I let her. Before you hate me, she is not sleeping well at night. This started at 15 weeks (sleeping poorly) and has not got better. She is now 20 weeks old. I thought sleep regression, I thought early teething symptoms, I didnt change her routine. She does not sleep more than 4.5 hours in a row and that happens only once a night precluded by her waking every hour from 10pm-1am. My question is, when do naps become more of a hindrance that a help? When should I be waking her? Should I be waking her? Does anyone know?
I would base it off Waketimes. Her natural morning wake up time should be pretty consistent day to day usually around sunrise for mine. Max wake time for 5m old is 2 hour, 6m is 2.5 hr, with shortest Waketime being the first of day and longest Waketimes before bed. Most 5m old are on a 3 naps. The babycenter community group teaching your baby and toddler to sleep really helped me figure out timing based of my baby’s needs.
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a5417415/how_to_successfully_teach_a_baby_to_sleep_-_3rd_ed.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GHo4keUb2TVJUlSL1kD6HQcEgaNFBmzoQoOzcpcyas/mobilebasic?authkey=CPXE1bsO&pli=1&hl=en
Sample chart although I do not agree with some things like amount of time before responding to nightwakings and the time cutoff for last nap of day (especially since the time change!)
First nap is probably 1-1.5 hr after wake up
Second and third Waketimes of 1.75-2 hr
Last Waketimes 2 hr
Bedtime approx 12 hr before natural wake up time or more depending on number of night feeds
Example
6
730-930
1130-1330
1530-1600
1800
If nap refusal leave room and be back in to be asleep at 45-60 min. If skips 3rd nap or just all day crap naps, do early bedtime. BT is usually 530-8. I base all sleep times off sleep signals or max wake time whichever comes first
I wouldn’t wake her in the middle of a sleep cycle. If she needs to wake, open curtains, turn off white noise, let her wake up. Good naps equal better night sleep.
Love Alexis’ site for helping baby to fall asleep. Lots of great info!
I’ve got my timing down ok with my second who is 16 weeks but I’m struggling with the a paci situation while swinging and swaddled. Not to mention she seems to be in the stormy wonder week!
Thank you for your reply!
Since I wrote this my LO (22weeks old)has started sleeping a bit better. I separated her bottle from her night routine (bottle, bath, book, bed)which has helped a bit. Right now she has a bedtime between 630-730 and is waking once a night to feed (the night feed is VERY varied, it can be anywhere from 1230-430), then she is usually up between 630-730. Her nap schedule from then on is a nap within 1.5-2hrs of each wake up, so nap @ approx 800, 1200, 400.
The last nap is the hardest as it frequently happens earlier than 4pm because her nap lengths can vary. My problem is then I have to end up putting her to bed earlier.
So right now she is doing about 5-6hr stretches. I am not trying to rush things but when do ppl start weaning off night feeds? I once read that if they are getting up at the same time every night, it usually means that it is a bad habit not a hunger issue, but since my LO is getting up only once a night and it is so varied, I am treating it like a hunger issue (I can tell by her cry when she is going to be able to self soothe back to sleep or if she is hungry). I am committed (in the future) to doing extinction CIO, but am not willing to do it now because I feel that she still needs that night time feed.
That’s great. Yes the last nap of day is always the hardest!
I personally didn’t have to force night weaning. My son was still night nursing twice 6-7 months, once at 8, and dropped it on his own by 9m. I think if she’s only waking once to feed, she definitely needs it. If it was a sleep issue she would be waking a lot more. She’s still young.
Hi Alexis,
I am a working mom and my 4 month old daughter is watched by 3 different people in 3 different places during the week. Basically naptime consistency is impossible, as is getting her to nap in crib is obviously not going to happen. What is your advice?
So I think we survived the 4mo sleep regression. It started 2 weeks ago (16 weeks of age) and seemed to last a week solid. Now we’re back to roughly the same night schedule as before – bed at 7:30, waking to feed at 1/2 and 4/5, up for the day at 7. I’m extremely consistent for naps and awake periods, put down awake, swaddle, swing, white noise.
Up until 2 weeks ago LO took at least one long nap (1.5-3hr) per day and sometimes two 2hr naps. ‘Short’ naps were 50mins-1hr 10min. Now naps are 45mins on.the.dot. A few days ago he woke at 45min, babbled, and went back to sleep for 30mins but that seems to have been a fluke. What happened to my long naps??
Hi! I have a 4.5 month old daughter. Since she was 2 months old she has been a 30 minute napper. Until she was 3.5 months old, she did all naps in her swing, but has always slept in the pack n play at night, right next to our bed. I stopped doing naps in the swing because I felt like she was dependent on the motion, and often I would need her to fall asleep while we were out, and hoped she would get better at sleeping in her crib/carseat. Rocking her has always been a screaming crying fit session… Although she doesn’t fall asleep on her own most of the time, so I usually have to rock her anyway. Since she was 3 months old, everything sleep related has gone down hill, until the last couple of weeks, where I think we’ve officially hit rock bottom (4 month sleep regression?!) she is now eating every 3 hours at night, and waking up 10-15 times and is simply WIDE awake. Not to mention 4:30-5am is her morning wake up time. I tried moving her into her own room at night, which didn’t make a difference. So, back to the swing we go, and this time it’s for all naps AND nighttime. It is working wonderfully
last night she only ate once, and i only had to give her the paci a few times and she went right back to sleep. so my questions…
1. In her swing is the only place she will occasionally take a longer nap. She still wakes at 30 minutes, but will either sit there in a daze for a while until she drifts back to sleep, or will cry for her paci, and then will go to sleep. In her crib, she cries until I get her out of bed. And then is an exhausted disaster until her next nap. Will keeping her in the swing train her to make the transition without motion?
2. Yes, I swaddle, paci, and use loud white noise. Is the paci the problem? In her crib, she will wake up at 30 minutes and hasn’t lost her paci, yet won’t go back to sleep. I cannot imagine life without it, and therefore am in complete denial that I need to get rid of it, but give it to me straight.
I just can’t figure out if the reason for these short naps is the lack of motion, not tired enough, paci, wants mom, or if she just genetically can’t do long naps. Help!!
So I’m thinking, I’ll continue using the swing at night and for naps, and my #1 goal is get her falling asleep by herself. Then move on to getting her to nap in a non-moving swing, and then move her to the crib where I will pray very very hard! At what point should I get rid of the paci???
#2 is just like my 5.5mo boy. I know he’s still tired when he wakes, but he just can’t seem to settle back into the next sleep cycle. He’s so tired all the time I don’t want to leave him to have a meltdown without the paci. (My first was the same too, but wouldn’t take a paci, and was awful about going to sleep. She eventually improved once she settled onto 1 sleep a day….I think may have even started doing 1hr naps when she was on 2 sleeps??)So I have nothing to offer you but sympathy
Hi
One of my twins is having a hard time napping. My daughter is currently 13 weeks and for about three or so weeks(or more) I have been putting her down for naps in her crib after I have rocked or held her for approximately 8-10 minutes. She falls asleep and I’ve been working putting her down earlier and earlier after she falls asleep. The shortest being around 45 seconds after she closes her eyes and the longest being 10 minutes.
Well this past week she seems to have regressed- I’ve been having to hold her for over 20 minutes and every single time I put her down she instantly wakes up. I watch very closely for sings of sleepiness as I know if she is overtired it is harder for her to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Is this common? I know there is a four month sleep regression but she isn’t four months and her night sleep is pretty good.
Hi Elna,
My baby is 15 weeks old and did exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago. I do almost exactly the same thing as you and she regressed right back to taking ages to settle for a nap and then only sleeping for very brief periods. Actually she screamed as as soon as I entered her bedroom!! This past week has been brilliant and I only rock her for about 5 mins and put her down awake but drowsy and she drifts off. So never fear….I think it has to do with that 4 month sleep regression…just a bit early. It will pass…so hang in there!!
Thanks Lucy!
You know that is my DD’s name! ha..anyways this past week she is getting a bit better with falling asleep but she still does 30-50 min naps. In her 2nd month she would often take 2-3 hour naps and once she hit 3 months things sort of declined and I don’t know why. The only time she takes a longer nap is if i bathe her before nap time or if she wakes up from a nap in like 30 min I put her on the swing and she can fall back asleep and sleep for another half our to an hour but not always.
You clearly have impeccable taste in names!! Yes… the 30-50 catnaps are frustrating and I found I was spending the whole day resettling, settling etc in a vicious circle! I have now adjusted to the naps and try now and again to resettle her, especially if she wakes up grumpy. At least u got 2 months of good napping..mine has been a catnapper virtually since birth!! Perhaps your other twin’s good nap habits will rub off on the other!! Good luck!
My 6 month old has started taking short naps in his crib, like 25 minutes long. He used to treat take at least 45 minute naps. We have white noise going, no swaddle any more, a good nap routine. I do nurse him to sleep still.
The issue – or maybe non issue? – is that he naps really well in his bouncy chair in the bathroom with the fan on. If he is tired I can put him down awake and he will go down no issue. It is not even completely dark but he will nap 1.5 to 3 hours in there! I feel like I need to be moving to the crib especially since it is hard to get him to nap when we are at someone else’s house, and I don’t want him napping in the bathroom forever!
He has no issue sleeping in his crib at night, and if he doesn’t fall asleep nursing he puts himself to sleep within 5 minutes, no crying. Should I be trying to force the crib for naps or just go with what works?
Hi all, thought to share this as i am addicted to blogs, articles about short naps! My girl is 4and a half months, she took great long naps up until 12 weeks of age, than 45 minutes on the dot! Didnt matter where, the car, the buggy, in my arm…she just wouldnt sleep for longer! Tried everything, became obsessed with the whole thing but accepted it in the end! About a week and a half ago one day she did nearly two hours, since than she had about 6-7 long naps, not every day but 6-7 out of cca 12 days! Done nothing ( except put her dummy back on two seperate naps), but waited for it to happen! Now, it might not be permanent for now but i am hopeful that if she is able to do it now, she will once do it permanently on a daily basis! As i write she has been asleep for nearly 2 hours ( so scared to move that i will be sprinting to the toilet once she is up)! I will be dissapointed if she wont keep this up but will accept it and wont try every possible method as it just drove me insane and to the verge of a nervous breadown! Short naps do suck!
Hi
I have 16.5 week old twins and for the last couple weeks they’ve been having short cat naps and have only developed the morning nap (used to be an hour but now a half hour).
Changes that have happened- they used to sleep 11 hours a night with 1 or 2 night wakings for DD but sleeping through the night for DS. Now they sleep 12 hours so I can see the morning nap being shortened b/c of this.
DS is now waking up at night (started with growth spurt and perhaps now is a habit? Don’t know)and is also taking short naps (25 min to 45 min)
Every few days they take longer naps (1-2.5 hours 1x or 2x a day)- I wonder if this is b/c of all the cat naps they’ve been taking and the night wakings?
Anyways- today I decided to not go in the room when DS fussed at 30 min mark and he fell back asleep after crying around 5-8 minutes…good to know that this method might work.
I’m a little inconsistent with my day nap methods- I usually nurse to sleep and sometimes they wake up when I put them down in the crib and sometimes they stay asleep. But sometimes if a baby is nursing too long or seems fidgety I just put them in the crib awake and sometimes they sleep and sometimes they scream bloody murder (at which point I nurse again).
I find it hard with twins as I often put one twin in the swing to nap and work on putting the other twin down in the crib.
Does anyone know if I’m creating bad sleep habits with swing naps and being a bit inconsistent with putting down awake or asleep?